Norte de Santander Department, Administrative department in northeastern Colombia
Norte de Santander is an administrative department in northeastern Colombia that stretches from the Andes Mountains to the Venezuelan border. The department includes cities such as Cúcuta, Pamplona, and Ocaña, along with rural areas where coffee plantations and grazing lands cover the hillsides.
The department was created in 1910 after the division of the former Santander into two separate administrative units. The split named the northern department after Francisco de Paula Santander, a military leader from the independence era.
In villages around Pamplona, visitors can find pottery workshops where artisans use techniques from colonial times. Residents prepare dishes like cabrito and arepa ocañera that have been part of the regional cuisine for generations.
The capital city Cúcuta sits in a valley and offers connections to smaller towns in the mountain regions. Travelers should prepare for elevation changes, as some locations rise above 2,000 meters (6,560 feet).
The páramo highland ecosystems store water like a sponge and provide clean water to communities downstream during dry seasons. Hikers can see frailejones, rare plants with thick leaves that grow only at these Andean elevations.
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